Community Service Officer Helps Catch Man Wanted in Rape Case

The man wanted in connection with a Sept. 9 sexual assault has been arrested thanks to a Tampa Police Department Community Service Officer’s “hunch.”

Police say the break in the case came recently when a resident called police to say she found a wallet in her yard that belonged to a Johnny Williams. While reviewing found property reports, the civilian CSO came across the one referencing Williams’ wallet.

“Acting on a hunch, the CSO forwarded the information on the found wallet to detectives investigating the sexual battery and home invasion,” an email to media from Tampa Police said. “Williams had warrants for his arrest on unrelated drug charges.”

Detectives went ahead and served the warrants on Williams Tuesday, bringing him into custody, while they continued their investigation into the Sept. 9 sexual assault and a possibly related Sept. 7 armed robbery and home invasion. Tampa Police released a sketch of the man last week as a possible suspect in both cases since witness descriptions were so similar in the two crimes.

The sexual assault took place Sept. 9 around 7:52 a.m. when a man broke into the home of a woman in her 20s near East Columbus Drive and Interstate 275. The man bound the victim and committed a sexual assault. He then fled.

The woman banged on her wall to get help from neighbors, who then called police.

The robbery and home invasion that is still under investigation unfolded Sept. 7 around 4:30 a.m. when an armed man walked into an apartment on 13th Street North and demanded money from the people inside. The man got his money and ran.

The person wanted in that case is described as a black male between the age of 25 and 30. He stands between 5 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 11 inches in height and weighs about 190 pounds. Victims described him as being of an average build, having dark skin and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a baggie white T-shirt and baggie black shorts.

Williams, 30, was being held in the Hillsborough County Jail Thursday without bond. He faces a host of charges, including sale of cannabis, delivery of a controlled substance, possession and sale of cocaine, sexual battery and robbery/home invasion, jail records indicate.

Anyone with information about the robbery that remains under investigation is asked to call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130.

Photo Credit: Johnny Robert Williams/Hillsborough County Jail